The power to protect
by Times-Scar
Summary: Naruto finds out some of his past, and the connection it has with his future. He must learn to accept his fate, or his future is death. Kinda romancy action whatever fic :)
1. Of dreams

Foreward :

I do not own Naruto or any of Kishimoto Masashi's characters. In order to familiarize yourself with the background and storyline, I recommend reading the original manga to date. I welcome all criticism good or bad! This is my first fic, so I imagine its flawed.

I fully intend to keep with the story, as long as people show interest, so please review.

Anyway enjoy!!

Things in [ ] are sound effects, and italics are thoughts.

Wow its dark…. I can't even see my hands. There it is again… The low chuckle that seems to be guiding me somewhere. Fumbling in the dark… ugh, I could be walking in circles and I wouldn't even know it.

Wuh.. AHHHHH……..

[Thud]

Ugh… that was quite a fall. Can.. Barely…. Stand up… Whoah! The floor is moving!!!

"MWHAHAHAHA…. So you have come to visit me again, little one."

Two red eyes….

With a scream and a start Naruto found himself on the ground by his bed entangled in his blankets, drenched in sweat. "That dream again…. Stupid fox." He thought to himself.

Lately he had been having more and more of these powerful but directionless dreams. He never could remember what the fox said to him, but whatever it was, it always woke him up hard. "I really need to stop eating ramen before bed" he thought. He extracted himself from the melee of sheets and blankets on the floor and attempted to stretch.

"AHHHH LEG CRAMP" he screamed as he rolled around on the floor clutching his offending leg. "Kuso, this is going to be a long day…"

[knock knock] "Come in!"

The door creaked open, and Jiraiya peeked in, with a look on his face that stated that he didn't want to know what it was that Naruto was howling about at this hour of the morning. "I see you are up and at it all ready" he smirked. "Are you ready for training?"

"Does it LOOK like I'm ready for training!?" Naruto shouted. "Why can't you be more like Kakashi and actually be LATE sometimes?"

Jiraiya nodded at the alarm clock victoriously.

"11:00!?!? AHHH how did I sleep in so much!?" Naruto yelled, running around frantically.

Jiraiya inwardly snickered "_Actually, the power went out last night, its only __8am__" _he thought.

Together the frog hermit and his young charge started walking down the path to the training grounds. Unlike his usual boisterous self, Naruto was lagging behind, looking down at the path. "Stupid fox" was all that ran through his mind. Jiraiya, noticing his abnormal behavior, stopped suddenly to confront him… or at least that was his intention. Walking on the pathside, a young woman sauntered by, totally engrossing the dirty old man. Naruto looked up just in time to see his teacher walking away after the young lady bowlegged, giggling crazily. "ERO-SENNIIIIIINNN!!!!"

Jiraiya leaned up against a tree heavily, rubbing the knot on his head where the woman decked him, after she turned around to see what the shouting was about, just to have the old frog hermit run squarely into her, accidentally putting his hands on her breasts. "Ouch, what a high price to pay…" his mind wandered. "I suppose I should thank the kid for giving me the opportunity for that grope though" he chuckled.

Naruto was struggling furiously with the task his sensei had given him. He remembered back to the old man's instructions… "Now what I want you to do, is make a rasengan and carve your name in this tree. I want you to get used to the feel of the cyclone, so you can summon it more quickly and easily". _"This has got to be some kind of joke"_, Naruto thought angrily, there was no way someone could make a rasengan so small and precise. If it weren't for the fact that Jiraiya demonstrated it to him, he would be sure it was a ploy to get him distracted for a few minutes while the old lecher peeped on some swimming schoolgirls. "ARRRRGGHH" he howled angrily and kicked the stump of the tree he just blew into splinters with his technique.

Off behind a tree, a small blue haired girl watched him with wonder in her eyes. "Naruto-kun… sugoi" she thought, as he blew another tree into bits. "He is so strong… It makes me want to keep trying" she sighed, looking at the log she was practicing on. "Maybe someday he will show me how he does that" she blushed. The idea of being anywhere near the brash Naruto was almost more than she could take. His boisterous aura filled her heart to the very brim just by being in the same room as him. Deep down inside she wanted nothing more than to be recognized by him, her hero.

"Yahooooo!!!!" Naruto happily shouted! "Ero-sennin! I did it!!!! Looklooklook! My name!" Sure enough, the hiragana for Na – Ru – To were etched out on the trees surface. "This kid really is something else… maybe he does have what it takes to compare to the Yondaime." Jiraiya thought to himself. "All right, you knucklehead, good work, lets head to town… we will stop at Ichiraku's on our way". Naruto just stared at him incredulously, remembering the LAST time the pervy-sennin told him he was taking him to the ramen shop, and ended up ditching him to pay for his own meal. "Ok fine, Ill TREAT you to some ramen, haha" Jiraiya laughed. _"Haha, what a guy… I can't believe he actually remembered that." _

As boy and sensei skipped off into town, the sun setting, the little blue haired girl came out of her hiding spot, where she had been watching in awe all day while her comrades practiced nearby. Oh what she would give to have the courage to confront Naruto about her feelings. Inwardly she knew that he liked Sakura. And why not? She was beautiful like her namesake, and was strong and brave for a kunoichi. [Sigh]"Naruto-kun"…. But if there was one thing that the rambunctious teenager had taught her, was to NEVER give up, no matter what happens. She cautiously went up to the tree where Naruto had been training and put her hand gingerly into the crevice that the Rasengan had made in the woods surface. It was sloppy, like someone who didn't practice writing often. Then again, she couldn't ever imagine her crush studying anything but jutsus. She giggled to herself, and wistfully pulled out her kunai and placed the blade underneath Naruto's signature. With the utmost caution she began etching into the wood. With a smile of satisfaction she patted the tree when she was done and began walking back to the Leaf village. Kurenai, who was walking her team back to the village, noticed the girl get a barely noticeable skip in her step as she walked away. She turned around to the tree where she saw the young kunoichi carving, and saw marked into the old tree's surface:

Naruto Hinata

"ITEDEKIMASU!!!" Naruto shouted before diving into his first bowl of ramen, practically inhaling it.

"_Good grief, this is going to be hard on my bank account" _Jiraiya thought. To his surprise, his charge suddenly stopped sucking the noodles down, and looked at him.

"Do you ever have a really weird dream a lot, ero-sennin?".

_"Yeah, one where me and Tsunade were….and without her genjutsu"_ He shuddered, before he slapped himself back into reality. "A really weird dream?" he asked.

"Yeah", Naruto said, "Like one where someone keeps trying to tell you something, but you always wake up before you can hear what it is they say". Jiraiya looked at Naruto quizzically.

"Um… who is it that is trying to talk to you…." He asked, with a hint of apprehension as to the answer.

"Kyuubi", Naruto sighed.

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows. He wasn't really sure what he expected, but somehow he feared that it was the nine-tailed demon. The seal that the fourth put on Naruto was intended to block the fox's consciousness from its host's, it shouldn't be possible for the Kyuubi to contact Naruto.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto while thinking back on the words of his former student.

_"Please Jiraiya-sensei… do not tell him who I am. I couldn't bear for him to know… For him to know that this abomination was sealed into him by…."_

_"Ah Yondaime-sama… Please don't hate me for this…. I believe it is for his own good."_

ondgs in By this time, Naruto was seriously becoming uncomfortable under his sensei's gaze.

"Um… ero-sennin..." he spoke sheepishly, "why're ya looking at me like that".

Jiraiya saw the obvious worry in his eyes, and in an attempt to allay his student's fears stood up, palm out, in his best serious tone said, "Ah! Fear not little chickadee! I may be a super-pervert, but super-pedophile, I am not!!"

Naruto sweat-dropped at the idea.

"That's not what I was talking about…" he mumbled.

Jiraiya sat back down with a plop, and readied himself for his discourse.

"Naruto, has anyone talked to you about your parents?". The boy shook his head. "Well… I knew your father…" . Naruto jumped up wide eyed and pointed accusatively at his teacher, but before he could begin another one of his shouting matches with Jiraiya, the sennin readied a jutsu and slammed the seal in the middle of Naruto's stomach, between the 2nd and 3rd sentinel seal. As Naruto's senses began to fade, he faintly heard Jiraiya's voice say "Perhaps this will reveal some of the mystery to you…." _"I prepared this Fuuin soft release just for you Naruto… I hope it helps you find what you seek"_

Where am I? That evil laugh again…. Am I dreaming again? Must be.. I'm standing in front of the Fuuin gate again…

Deep inside the darkness of Naruto's soul, behind the Fuuin – Shiki Fuujin gate, Kyuubi's eyes shot open, blood red and in pain. Something outside was probing in its mind, deep within the recesses of his consciousness. Suddenly, every thought, memory and dream that the fox demon had ever experienced was suddenly copied forcefully from its mind, searing his surroundings with a constant screeching sound, like metal on glass.

[Da dum]

Dizzy and disoriented from the massive intrusion into its mind, Kyuubi collapsed and watched, as clear as a candle in a dark room, a small orb of consciousness, a solid orb of thought floated free from his cell, floating to the form laying in front of him. It came down onto Naruto's prostrate form and streams of memory began pouring out into his mind.

[Da Dum… Da Dum]

Naruto clawed at his head, subconsciously trying to stop the sudden assault on his mind. Gradually the shock of the intrusion began to wane, and all he could hear was his own slow heartbeat in his ears. He opened his eyes, and a large grassy field lay before him. Suddenly the ground began to shake. A humongous paw crashed into the ground next to him, leaving a deep furrow in the ground where it landed, and the surrounding grass was seared to ashes instantly by the chakra flowing around it. With a screech Naruto scrambled to get out of the way of the enormous thing seemingly trying to kill him. His body froze in fear as he recognized the blazing purple and red chakra flow that emanated from the being in front of him. His gaze traced up the creatures leg and to its head. "Kyuubi!!!!" he shouted, but the monster in front of him paid him no heed. It seemed to only be interested in one thing in front of it. Its many tails crashed down and annihilated the hillside it was standing on, leaving it standing in the rubble. It spread its stance as if readying itself to charge. Naruto's vision slowly began to collapse under the strain of the moment. "No, I can't pass out now, if I get stepped on by that thing.. I'll be a goner!! I…Can't… keep… eyes… open…." was the last thing he thought as the awareness closed in around him.


	2. Of regrets

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. On with the story. Please review!

Where… where am I? It feels like… I'm floating… is this death? No… I can open my eyes… Whats this? I'm… really high up!

Naruto slowly regained his senses after passing out, and was looking around trying to figure out what happened while he was out.

[Boom]

He felt himself hurdling forward with reckless abandon toward a goal that his eyes were now focusing on.

"What's going on???" He thought. He tried to yell, but no sound came out. He felt detached like a ghost without a body. Carefully he looked down… and only could see what he thought was a giant nose. Vast billows of hot breath blasted from the nostrils in front of him, supercharged with red chakra. Kyuubi! Slowly realization dawned on him. "I'm… looking through Kyuubi's eyes??" he thought, as he neared the target the fox was after. His eyes came to focus on a humongous toad on the edge of his sight. _"Gamabunta?__ What's he doing here?"_ Naruto thought. The giant summon braced itself for impact as Kyuubi closed the distance at an alarming speed. Out of sheer shock at what was going on, the only thing Naruto could do was watch what was playing out before his eyes.

Suddenly, time seemed to come to a dramatic slowdown. A blonde head came into view walking up the back of Gamabunta, who was struggling to resist the massive youma that was assaulting him. "Hurry it up Dan; I can't hold this for much longer!!", the frog grunted.

ROOAARRRRRR!!!! The Kyuubi howled in anger. To Naruto it felt like his mind was going to explode under the violent aura around him. Never had he felt such raw killing intent. He was surrounded, consumed by it, he felt as if his very breath was being held back into his lungs by the pressure of it. Kyuubi reared its head back and flailed its tails violently, causing a maelstrom of dust and tree material to form around him. The blonde figure who was now on the head of the toad was standing with his eyes closed, forming an extensive seal system. _"He's really going to use that jutsu. I suppose it's the only way. Even I am at my limits with this foe, if this lasts much longer we will both be annihilated." _Gamabunta thought.

"For the people of this village, my beloved Konoha, I wager my life!!" the blonde figured shouted to the Kyuubi. "Hahahahaha, what do you think you can do, little one? A puny mortal such as you has no chance against my power! You will die today, you who dares to stand in my path, and I will have my revenge on the fools in Konoha" Kyuubi cackled. "You are right, demon, I will die today. But you will not touch the Konoha village!" he said, and then thought "_I guess this is it… I had better prepare for it."_ The Kyuubi's eyes widened as the blonde man held a newborn baby in front of him. What was it that this ridiculous mortal had planned for him? He was vastly too powerful for any seal that a simple man could posses. The baby cried in fear at the all the ruckus, far too young to be in this situation. The man suddenly let go of the child, but the baby remained floating in front of his chest, suspended by chakra. _"He mocks me."_ Kyuubi thought, as bit down hard on the throat of Gamabunta. "This is it Dan! I don't have any left in me!" Gamabunta gurgled thru the death grip the fox held on this throat.

The man inhaled sharply and began forming seals as fast as he could, the chaotic blast of air threatening to knock him off his perch on the toads head.

Mi – I – Hitsuji – U- Inu – Ne – Tori – Uma – Mi

The man completed the seal and clapped his hands together, finishing the seal.

"FUUIN - SHIKI FUUJIN NO JUTSU" he shouted. _"Please my son, forgive me for this curse, my only prayer is that you will be seen as a hero to this village!! Live well young one!"_ he thought as he opened his eyes. They burned with an intensity and purpose. He would defeat this foe; he must, for the sake of all that is precious to him.

He grabbed the now unconscious baby and lunged at the demon fox's head. Kyuubi's eyes widened as he saw a powerful clawed hand, with a curse seal entangling it, blast out of the mans chest, and through the belly of the baby, to grab into the depths of his mind. For a moment, he saw behind the man a horrible robed figure, solid white excluding the curse seal on its arm, and the knife it held in its teeth. The thing grinned with raw malice and began to drool expectantly onto the blade of its knife. "Yes, you can see it now, demon! Your demise, behold the kinjutsu with death itself." The man shouted. "Always remember this defeat, by a mere mortal; I, the Yondaime Hokage of the Leaf village, Uzumaki Dan!" As the man shouted his last words, the horrible hand began to pull the demon fox's soul directly out of its body. The soul completely filled the baby, overflowing its tiny container, and covering the man and his son with a horrible red light. Another hand burst out of the chest of the Hokage, and planted its knife into the surface of the baby's skin. It carved a horrible seal onto the child's body, terminating at the baby's belly button. A tremendous flash of light filled the whole area blinding Naruto, who had been observing the fight from the perspective of Kyuubi.

"That baby… was… me!!! I'm… the son of the fourth Hokage!?"

Drip…. Drip….

"Ugh…. My aching head… was that some kind of genjustu?" Naruto mumbled, rocking back and forth holding his throbbing skull. An evil voice started laughing hoarsely at the boy. "Hahaha, I see, you know now, your very own father was willing to curse you with me in order to save the precious Konoha!"

Naruto whirled around to see the blazing crimson eyes of the demon imprisoned behind the gate.

"No! That's not true, you stupid fox! I could hear his thoughts! He wanted me to be a hero! He wanted me to be recognized by the village!" Naruto howled in defense.

"But it didn't turn out that way, did it" the fox sneered. "All this… because of the stupidity of humans. You know, little one, your father would be alive today if it weren't for the idiots of the leaf". Naruto looked at him skeptically. "Hahaha, you mean you really don't know?" Kyuubi huffed. "Your mother… my sister… She died because of the fear of your pathetic race. Humans, so full of fear, it sickens me. It is why they destroy themselves, create countless wars and destroy innocent lives." Naruto plopped down in confusion. His mother was a youma? How is that possible? "I see that this news is truly new to you" the fox said, its face visibly softening. "Is it really so hard to believe? Do you think those whisker marks on your cheeks are caused by me? Do you really think that you have such ridiculous stamina simply because of me? No boy, you are purely human, but the vestiges of your mother can be seen in you."

Naruto couldn't think at all. His mind was a blaze of mixed emotions and thoughts. "Why did you attack my village? What quarrel did you have with my father that you would attack him with intent to kill? I could feel your… hate…" He shuddered at the memory of the horrible aura he was bathed in during the vision.

"My sister fell in love with a meaningless human. I tried to tell her that it was stupid, that humans are weak and that they wouldn't allow her to live amongst them, even with her under the massive illusionary technique she used to give herself a measly human form. At first, it seemed like she proved me wrong. The people of Konoha village loved her like a member of their society. The human she cared for eventually returned her love, and they were married." Kyuubi's eyes narrowed. "But then you were conceived. I came to your birthing ceremony in human form to witness the final bond between the youma and humankind, perhaps the very thing that would make our races come together. But the stupidity of humans overcame. The people always feared having a half breed amongst them, despite my sister's attempts to allay their fears and let them know that the child would be purely human, that the demon strain would not carry over into human genetics. That was mostly true. But people do not allow things that they do not understand to live amongst them. As I left the village to head back to my den, I heard the word. The baby had whisker marks. The people flew into an uproar; they had a 'monster' among them. They raced to Hokage manor and, and despite your fathers best efforts, they broke into the room where your mother and her child slept. She awoke and flew into a rage, but she was weakened from giving birth. They killed her and were about to kill you when Dan took you from the manor himself and ran. I rushed back to the village, fearing the worst, but obviously, I was too late. My anger overcame me, and I returned to my native form, and sought to destroy those who had killed my beloved sister."

The fox let out a tremendous sigh "But your father came to me, asking me to help him, but I was too angry to listen to his pleas. I told him that he was partially to blame for my sisters death, that if he hadn't have been around, she would have never left her ancestral home to live amongst his filth. I attacked him. He did his best to simply disable me, but after all, I am a youma. There is no mortal that can stand against me. Or at least I thought so. Your father defeated me, and hoping to help protect you from the stupidity of the people of your village, he sealed me into you to provide you with an additional energy source for when you were in need. He knew of my feral rage, and its capabilities. Ah to feel the intensity of battle again. The time when you fought that boy… -Haku was his name- that was me doing the fighting. This accursed seal prevents me from invading into your higher brain functions, but the raw intensity of my emotions was more than enough to leak through, along with some of my chakra."

Naruto looked up at the fox that was now looking at him softly. "You were trying to protect me?" Naruto asked with wonderment in his eyes. "You are the last vestige of my sister's memory. I both love and hate you, as you are the thing that caused her death, yet the result of her love. I could not let you die."

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. The horrible demon fox, Kyuubi was capable of emotions like this? He would have never believed such a story, had it not come from the mouth of his tormentor himself. "No matter" the fox said, "Now you know the real story behind your lineage, and my fall. May the knowledge serve you well. It seems that my attempt to reach your mind succeeded." Naruto looked shocked. "You mean, you were actually TRYING to talk to me?" "Yes, when you sleep is the only time the seal is weak enough to allow subtle thoughts into your mind. I am glad that I was able to talk to you Uzumaki Naruto. You have earned my respect. From now on, just call my name and I will heed your call. Your fathers dying memory is sufficient for me to do this for you. After all, he was the only thing my sister ever loved, besides you. We will meet again, little one." With that, the fox closed his eyes and moved out of view from the seal gate. Naruto yelled after him to stay, but to no avail. His senses closed in around him, and when he came back to reality, he found himself lying in his bed, with Jiraiya sitting on the end at the footboard.

"So how was it?" the frog hermit said sheepishly, unsure of the result of the encounter.

"It was… weird…" Naruto said, looking down at his hands.

Jiraiya sweat dropped, "I mean, what happened, you knucklehead."

"Kyuubi told me that I'm the son… of his sister… and the Yondaime." Naruto said, looking up at Jiraiya with a confused look in his eyes. "How come no one ever told me this before?" He asked.

Jiraiya put his hand on the boys shoulder, "because Naruto, he didn't want his memory to be that of someone that sealed something awful inside you. It was the only choice. He forbade anyone from telling you of him, or of the demon fox."

Naruto leaped up with a smile on his face, "what? Ero-sennin! This means I'm just closer to becoming the Hokage!"

"Ah, well it's good to see that you are taking it well, Naruto. I will see you tomorrow for training", the old man said, as he got up and let himself out the door. "Sleep tight, knucklehead; you probably need your rest after all that. I hope that it gave you some piece of mind", he whispered as he closed the door behind him. He smiled warmly as he peeked back into the room of the youngster. He was already sound asleep, mumbling something to the effect of "Hmmhmm….. Hokage…..".


	3. Hopes and memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  Or any of the other characters that Kishimoto Masashi came up with.

On with ch3!  Another piece of the puzzle is close to being revealed!

"I think you should tell him." Jiraiya spoke to the black haired man standing in front of him.  "He knows about Kyuubi now, and about his origins.  Its only fair to him to have you tell him the truth."

"Are you out of your mind, Jiraiya?  That past is long forgotten.  I have no desire to talk to the demon-child.  My answer is no." The man said, starting to close the door. 

The old sennin crossed his arms and closed his eyes defiantly.   "I would be glad to tell Naruto myself, if that is your desire."  The door came to a halt just before the latch clicked.  The black haired man hung his head, knowing Jiraiya had won.  He did not want to ever see that boy, the reminder of his anguish ever again, and now that he knew of his descent, it would be even more difficult for him to confront him.  He reopened the door, and looked up with his icy white eyes, a hint of sadness etched into his features. 

"I… am not sure I can comply fully with your request, Jiraiya." he said, straightening his back, trying to gather his remaining dignity.  "The subject was not one that I expected to have to broach for some time.  However, out of respect for you, and for the Hokage, I will do my best to fulfill what you ask."

"Good." Jiraiya said, turning away, "We will meet you at the Ichiraku ramen stand at noon tomorrow.  I'll inform Tsunade of your compliance.  Thank you, Hiashi; I know it is difficult for you.   The boy deserves all we can give him though.  He's spent his entire life in a veil of mystery, not knowing who he is or where he came from." 

The Hyuuga clan heir bowed slightly.  "As you request." He said, before closing the door in front of him.  As he carefully but firmly pressed the door into its jamb, he put his head onto the wood surface and closed his eyes, his mouth curved downward in an expression of sheer anguish.  _"How long has it been, my love.  I miss you so."  _His thoughts were swimming. On one hand, he was angry and sad; on the other he was relieved.

"F-Father?" he heard a small voice squeak from behind him.  "Ano, A-are you all right?"  The elder Hyuuga's face hardened as he turned around to face his daughter.  He looked down at her, with his usual stony exterior and crossed his arms.

"It is of no concern to you.  Please return to your bedroom." He frostily said as he marched past her toward his chambers.  Hinata was used to his harshness however, and did not show any visible emotion as she turned around and made her way through the vast interior of the Hyuuga manor.  She found the door to her room and shuffled slowly back to her futon.  As she lay down, her thoughts turned to the obvious look of pain on her father's usually solid exterior.  He rarely showed any emotion at all, besides the looks of disgust he often threw his weakest daughter.  Oh how she wanted to be seen, to actually be recognized by her father, let alone the clan elders.  She wistfully thought back on the fateful day when her sister Hanabi, 5 years her younger, defeated her in an even match.  She had never been so humiliated, so alone.  The look of absolute determination etched on her younger siblings face as she attacked her sister without remorse shook Hinata's nerves.  How could she fight her own sister, when her sister was intent on beating her at all costs?  There was no feeling in her eyes, as someone who fought a stranger in a competition match.  Hinata inhaled regretfully at the painful memory.  She wanted a family, but her own was barely thus.  She was a failure and a disappointment to them, but there was always something that hung over her.  There was something more to it, but she couldn't put her finger on it.  Just being weak was bad enough, but she could always marry someone stronger in that case.  The clan had no qualms with giving the clan heir-hood to the younger sibling, so why should they hate her?   The petit raven-haired girl whimpered softly as tears welled up in her eyes.  _"Is there any hope for me?" _she thought_, "I can't see it, if there is."_  Sleep gradually came to her, covering the small girl with the absolute peace if afforded.  Tomorrow would be a new day, full of new events.  Perhaps fate had something better in store for her.

Daybreak came to Naruto like a wash of color over a clean canvas.  His mind was clear, he was full of joy. The previous day's events had given him a new lease on life.  No longer was he simply the container for a deadly monster, but he was the son of one of the heroes of Konoha village.  He marched cheerily into his kitchen, and opened his pantry, scanning its interior for available victuals.  He reached for a cup of instant ramen then with a start yanked his hand out the food closet.  What was he thinking!?  Instant ramen!?  He should be celebrating!  He threw on his usual orange clothing and rushed out the door, still with one arm out of its sleeve.  He stumbled down the stairs, his wallet, gama-chan in his mouth.  Today would be a good day! 

As he approached Ichiraku's stand he noticed an unusual figure sitting in seat to the far left.  The ramen stand had its regulars; it was very unusual to see new faces in the little stand.  As he got closer he began to recognize the figure.  It was a girl his age, wearing a sheepskin jacket, with fur at the cuffs and waist.  She looked down at the bowl pensively, fiddling with the noodles.  The steam had long gone away from the broth's surface and the foodstuffs within were soggy and dissolving.  "Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted, remembering the 'proud failure' speech she had recently given him.  She had given him the strength to defeat her cousin that day, and for that he would never forget her.  The girl startled slightly at the new voice shattering her private world.  A small blush formed on her pale cheeks as she recognized the owner of the voice. 

"Naruto-kun! A-ano I… breakfast!" she squeaked out, twiddling her fingers nervously by her lower lip, her eyes closed tightly. _"Wonderful, Hinata" _she thought, _"Now he's REALLY going to think you are a freak."_  To her surprise, when she opened her eyes and looked over, her gaze was met by Naruto, smiling with a toothy ear to ear grin.  She quickly looked back down to her bowl and began playing with its contents again at a frantic pace."

"Hey, Hinata!  Guess what!  I found out who my dad is!" he shouted waving his wallet in the air, "Its time to celebrate!"  Ichiraku grinned at his favorite customer.  _"Haha, so the boy knows now. It's good to see a smile on his face once again." _he thought.

"So, what'll it be today?  It's on the house today! I'll even make the girl a bowl if she wants one." Ichiraku smiled.  Naruto looked at her already ice cold bowl of ramen, and squinted his eyes.  What a horrible waste!  _"Maybe I should suggest a flavor, since she didn't like that one!" _Naruto thought, oblivious to her inner turmoil. 

"You should try the udon shrimp noodles Hinata-chan!" he grinned, proud of his 'earth shattering' realization.  "Hey, Ichiraku-san, an udon shrimp for her and miso pork for me!" he shouted.  The amicable store owner grinned and started frying the ingredients for the dishes.  Hinata started to protest, the LAST thing she wanted was to impose on the nice man's kindness, but Naruto looked back to her and interrupted her train of thought.   "I found out last night about my dad!" he said, crossing his arms proudly on his chest. As he was saying it, the realization dawned on him.  Did she know, like the adults did, about him and the Kyuubi?  It stood to reason that it would be a secret to the other children of the village, aside from him.  If his dad wanted to keep it an absolute secret, the adults of the village would have been asked to keep silent about the events to their children.  Perhaps he should keep the identity of his dad to himself.   It might not go over well with this strange, shy girl that he barely knew.  "Well anyway", he said, looking from the girl who was waiting for his revelation expectantly, "It was nice to know who I am, even if my father is dead."  Hinata creased her eyebrows in sadness.  The boy she had watched and admired so long...  Just finding out about his DEAD father was enough to make him happy enough to celebrate.  What totally different worlds they lived in.  Here she was struggling to be out from under her father's hurtful eye, when all that this boy wanted was to know who his father was.  It made her ashamed that she was so selfish. 

"Hinata, it is time for you to be going home now."  Hinata recoiled at the voice to her left.  To her surprise she felt a gentle hand being place on her shoulder.  She looked up at her father, who for the first time in her whole life was giving her a look that expressed warmth.  She looked up in wonder at her father, not sure how to respond.  "He would take care of you like no other." he whispered, eyes squinted intensely,  half intending it to be a private thought.   Naruto looked at him confused.  Hinata passed out. 

When she came to she saw her father looking at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you all right, Hinata?  You fainted suddenly."  He said, knitting his eyebrows.   She nodded in assertion, and then remembered the reason why she fainted. 

She shot upright and began stammering, "A-ano, father, Naruto-kun and I… ah… it's not like that!"  She looked over at Naruto slowly, half hoping to see disappointment on his features.  All she was met with was a blank stare.  For a moment there was an awkward silence as Hiashi sought for something to say to relieve his daughter's embarrassment, Jiraiya gave the waitress at the stand 'the eyes', Naruto stared at Hinata and Hiashi, attempting to ascertain the situation, and Hinata blushed furiously.  Hiashi looked up at Jiraiya, silently pleading with him for help.  The old lecher looked over the hand on his chin and raised an eyebrow to Hiashi.  Hinata took the chance to excuse herself from the uncomfortable situation and backed away mumbling apologies and playing with her thumbs.

_"W-what was that all about??"_ she stammered inwardly. _"My father… he looked at me… and it was with kindness!  And he thought Naruto and I were on a date!  I don't understand, he normally would have been very angry."_  Her mind clawed for an answer, but could not find one.  All she knew was that the events made her feel happy, with a hint of worry at the strange behavior.  Deep down inside her father knew more about Naruto than she did, and she wanted to share the knowledge. 

"Naruto, lets go to the training grounds, there is something Hiashi-san wants to say to you."  Jiraiya said.  Naruto, still confused at the previous events, followed his sensei silently, scratching the back of his head.  The silent procession of Hiashi, Naruto, and Jiraiya passed the outskirts of town, and finally arrived at their destination.  Jiraiya directed Naruto to a rock, and the elder Hyuuga to a nearby stump.  Hiashi slowly and apprehensively sat, subconsciously resisting the discomfort that was to come.   He didn't want to relive this, and yet he was doing so for a boy that up until yesterday he hated, and for his daughter who up until yesterday was his biggest disappointment.  His thoughts were amok; but deep inside, he knew what he must do.  The pain was great, but the only way to alleviate it was to reopen the wounds, to allow the poison to escape.  He knew that his wounded heart would forever fester under the pressure of the scars he held onto tightly.  With a tremendous sigh, he opened his eyes slowly, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.  Naruto looked at him, shocked.  The elder Hyuuga was crying?  Naruto knew it was unusual to see any emotion at all from a Hyuuga, let alone the head of the clan.  What was it that the man was going to reveal to him?  Part of him wanted to put up a wall to defend himself from pain, another part of him anxiously awaited the important knowledge that the man was going to share with him.

The man breathed in one last anxious breath, and started his story.


	4. Of forgiveness

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but the characters introduced in this chapter are mine.  I don't believe that the manga ever mentions Hiashi's wife by name, so I made a name up.  If there is one, I'll edit it if someone brings it to my attention.

On with the story! 

Shizuka means peace and Iansha means "one who comforts"

As the elder Hyuuga queried his mind on how best to convey his story, he closed his eyes, and sought to remember the previous evening's events.  He would need all the motivation he could muster, so his reason for actually going through with this was the first thing that came to mind. 

The previous night:

Hiashi stomped up the stairs to his quarters, his jaw set, as he gritted his teeth angrily.  Despite his cordiality, Jiraiya's threat did not sit well on the clan leader's mind.   He, one of the most powerful men in Konoha, was being bullied by a hermit?  This was absurd.  No, absolutely not.  He would NOT be forced into doing something he didn't want to, he didn't even care that the Hokage asked it of him.  He knitted his eyebrows, and unconsciously slammed his room's door open.  He slid the door shut and sat down on the edge of his bed.  Angrily he grabbed the bottle of sleeping pills on his nightstand and downed a couple of them, then placed a sweaty palm on his forehead.   It would be another long night for him, he could feel it already.  As his drugged mind began to shut down, and drift into the state of artificial slumber that he had become accustomed to, his thoughts focused to one name, _"Shizuka."_

_"What is this?  A field of tiger lilies… Shizuka loved tiger lilies."_ He thought.  He reached down and plucked one of the flowers and twirled it in between his fingers in front of his eyes.  They were so beautiful, so calm.  It's no wonder she thought so highly of the plant.  They were very much like his deceased bride, wielding a quiet beauty that was naturally soothing.  The endless depths of her eyes could calm even the most disturbed soul.  She was quiet and collected; the kind of person that could quiet a crying baby with simply a look.  He tossed the lily aside and walked slowly toward a large cherry tree in the middle of the field.  Butterflies lazily danced around the branches, and petals from the blossoms quietly drifted to their resting places on the ground.  The sun seemed to smile upon the spot, like a remnant of Eden.  As he approached the tree he could hear a soft voice from the other side of the tree humming a simple lullaby.  Instantly all of his worries and fears melted away as the sound of the voice came to rest upon his ears.  He was totally caught within its spell, completely at the will of the quiet little tune.  He felt as if his body was tranquilized by its calm power.  He ignored the cherry blossoms coming to rest on his shoulders and head, and cautiously stepped alongside the tree, not wanting to disturb the private Heaven.  He looked down at the young woman sitting with her back to the tree, clad in a pure white kimono, which seemed to radiate with peace.  Totally entranced by her beauty, he started to sit next to her, his mouth open in wonder.  She looked up at him, and gave him a smile that could melt the ice off of the heart of the toughest man.

 "Hiashi-kun, you look silly with those cherry blossoms on your head."  She giggled sweetly as she carefully dusted the silky petals from the man's shoulders and hair.  A tear began to form in the elder Hyuuga's eyes, and he reached up and touched her cheek, praying with all of his heart that touching her would not break the spell.  His fingers lightly came in contact with her skin, and for a moment, he flinched, expecting the illusion to dispel.   "I'm right here, my love.  I won't disappear."  She said, laying her small hand on the back of his.  

"Shi… Shizuka?" he uttered, barely more than a whisper.  His normally cold features were now very soft, a look of one with a broken heart in his pale eyes.  His beloved bride, she had come to visit him?  This had to be a dream, but he wished it weren't so.  She looked at him quizzically and tossed a handful of grass at him. 

"Don't look so serious, my husband.  It makes you look like a statue." She said, mirthfully.  He put his other hand up to her face, and pulled her head to his chest.  Wrapping his arms around her, he nuzzled his face into her hair.   A slight wind picked up, causing a swirl of leaves and cherry blossoms to stir up around them.  "I cannot stay for long" she said into his arms, "I came to make good on our promise, do you remember it?"  The dark haired man sat down next to the woman, and she placed her head gently on his shoulder.  He nodded his head in assent and stared off into the distance.  "How long has it been?  Time seems to run together… where I am."  She looked up at him and noticed the tears forming in his eyes.   "Don't cry, Hiashi.  One day we will return to each others arms.  You need to be there for our daughter until then."  He hung his head in shame.

"Shizuka… I… have not made good on my promise to you.  I have let anger and hate grow in my heart.  I have no right to be the father to your beloved child."  He said, through a veil of tears and pain.  "I have spent all these years resenting her and that boy.  How could I ever make up for lost time?  You promised me that you would be there for our daughter's 16th birthday, but I had long forgotten the reason why." He said with a pleading look in his eyes.

She leaned in close and touched noses with her husband. 

"It was to tell her… about love.  Although we didn't know that I was not to stay in the world of the living to see it, I have come back on the eve of her birthday to give you the message.  Only you have a strong enough bond with me for me to speak with directly, so only you can relay it.  Please… love her as you loved me Hiashi." She said, cradling his broken self in her arms.  "I'm sorry that we could not spend longer together, but it will only be for the blink of an eye." she said, smiling warmly at him. 

"What of the boy" he asked ", what can I say to him?"  He dried his eyes and stood with his back to the wind, letting his hair flow freely in it.  She slowly stood with him and took his hands in her own.  Her image started to fade, and she stepped back after giving him a final hug. 

"Tell him of Iansha, Hiashi.  Tell him of her hopes and dreams, of her loves and pains.  You are the closest link he has left to his past.  Only you can do this for him."  She said, closing her eyes.  "Goodbye my love, until we meet again."  The wind quietly swirled around her, concealing her with leaves.   In an instant, she was gone.

"SHIZZUUUKKAAAA!" he shouted out loud, waking up crying.  He then knew what he had to do.

Back to the present:

"Naruto" he began, "I have come to tell you of my deceased wife.  She was a great friend of your mother's.  She was the first to accept her, and the one who made her existence in the leaf possible.  At first the people of the village were skeptical of a demon living in their midst, but through the gentle nudging my wife applied, the town began to accept her.  Her name was Iansha.  They had a friendship that forms only once in a millennia.  Few people have ever experienced such a bond.  They did everything together; they shopped, they cooked, they even cleaned together.  They sometimes spent the night together at the Hokage manor, but rarely at the Hyuuga mansion.  The love they shared was as pure as the driven snow, like two sisters, but I envied it.  I longed for this closeness with my wife, and the seed of bitterness was planted deep in my heart.  It grew and festered until I couldn't stand the sight of your mother anymore.  I never openly opposed the friendship, but my feelings were made very clear in my actions.  The days went on, and so nature goes, they both became pregnant within a few months of each other, Iansha with you, and my Shizuka with Hinata."  He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

Naruto stared at him intently, taking in every word, but he felt a stirring deep in his spirit.  For a moment he saw a vision of the Fuuin gate inside him, and a pair of burning red eyes.  "It's HIM" Kyuubi growled.

The clan leader continued his tale.  "As the third trimester of your mother's pregnancy came to a close, the villagers became restless.  Since the beginning of her stay in the village, they had feared her somewhat, but they did their best to hide it and treat her with the respect afforded the Hokage's wife.  The thoughts plagued them all.  They would hold private meetings about the monster that would be born; everyone had the word on the tip of their tongues.  In dark corners people would fret over the things they did not understand, and over time, the people began to hate the idea of… you being born.  Your mother loved you though, Naruto.  She did her very best to convince the townsfolk that you would be born just as one of them, that no harm would come of your introduction to life.  Your father used his power to keep the people in check, and they seemingly obeyed.  All until the day you were to be born."  Hiashi gritted his teeth at the shameful memory.

Naruto looked at him questioningly, fearing what he was to say.  "But… I hated your mother for taking my Shizuka.  I… stirred the people to anger, and started the revolt that was to take your mother's life."  The elder Hyuuga could feel the intense emotions boiling in Naruto as the boy stood up sharply, but he had no answers for the poor boy.  There was only one thing that he could do.  He threw himself at Naruto's feet, face to the ground.  "Forgive me, Naruto!  I am a weak man, full of anger and doubt.    Indirectly, I also caused the death of your father, leaving you totally alone.  In fear and in doubt, I hid in my manor, under the guise of 'clan leader', shielding myself from pain.  The only thing I can offer in exchange for your parent's lives is their memory.  Please…" he pleaded.

He could feel the anger of Kyuubi roiling within him, seeking to drive him into frenzy.  Naruto fought back the angry emotion he had within himself.  Jiraiya looked at him and nodded.  He knew that the boy had a kind heart.  He knew that there was no malice in his deep blue eyes.  Naruto kneeled down and touched Hiashi's shoulder.  The Hyuuga looked up into the boy's warm eyes and saw that this simple boy was not capable of the evil emotions that he himself held.  Naruto closed his eyes with a smile and scratched the back of his head and said "Perhaps you can tell me more about my parents, ne?"  Hiashi wiped his eyes on his sleeve and stood up.  He thought, _"I hope that someday I may make up for my failure, Yondaime.  Shizuka, I pray that this honors your memory."_

He and Naruto stayed there long into the night, Hiashi telling him everything that he knew about his mother and father, and their beautiful romance.  He told him of his mother's 'hopes and dreams, loves and pains'.  He told him of his father's vanity, and of his enormous courage, with Jiraiya interjecting funny stories about Dan's antics during training.  He told him of Kyuubi, and how he was Iansha's older brother.

"You mean Kyuubi is actually my Uncle?" Naruto asked in amazement.  The Hyuuga simply nodded, and began to stand up, signifying the end of the discourse.  

"Please forgive me Naruto, there is something I need to talk to my daughter about."  He said. 

[CRASH] 

Hiashi and Naruto whirled around, to see Hinata rubbing her head where she fell from the tree she was in when she fell asleep.

"Ah, ah, I… came to see where my f-father… ah…" she stammered, knowing she was caught eavesdropping, if only briefly. 

Naruto started running around in a panic.  Had she heard about the demon fox?  If so, how would she react?  He stopped with his hands behind his head, scuffing the ground with his foot.  "Ah Hinata, haha, your father was just going to talk to you!" he said, looking for a quick retreat.  He bowed quickly, and then took off running after Jiraiya, who had already started on his way back to the village.  He caught up to Jiraiya, who was looking extremely tired at this point in time.  "Jiraiya-sensei!" he shouted.  Jiraiya startled awake.  Had he heard correctly? Did the boy just call him SENSEI??  What a shock!

"Jiraiya-sensei, do I act like my dad at all?"  He asked excitedly.  Jiraiya looked at him and sweat dropped.  

"Um… your father was a natural talent" he said, trying to soften the blow.  "It's hard to be compared to him."  Naruto looked at him with disappointment etched in his features, but quickly recovered when the hermit continued.  "Anyway, tomorrow I'll take you to Ichiraku's since I interrupted your dinner today."

"Yahooo!!!!!" Naruto yelled, running ahead.  "Ero-sennin!  Hurry!"  __

_"What a big pain in the butt this kid is" _he inwardly laughed, _"I hope that he follows in your footsteps, Yondaime, he certainly has your will."_

Back at the training grounds:

Hiashi put his hand on his daughter's head.  "Tomorrow is your 16th birthday, correct?"  He asked.  She nodded, looking down at her feet in embarrassment.  "Well Hinata, there is something that your mother wanted to tell you on your 16th birthday.  I have so much to talk with you about."

The rest of Hiashi's story comes next chapter, what weird plot developments is my evil mind coming up with!? 

See you next time!  I'm taking a few days off first tho ;)


	5. Lost love's promise

Disclaimer :  I don't own anything from the Naruto manga. 

Sorry for the delay folks, but I was busy with work etc.  I also updated a sentence from ch4 that contradicted some stuff in this chapter, to be honest, it didn't make sense, even with my original storyboard.

Anyway, here's another piece of the past, which is connecting with the present.

"Hinata, there is so much that I should have told you a long time ago." The elder Hyuuga said as he sat his nervous daughter on the stump on which he was seated earlier.  She complied hesitantly as her father squatted down in front of her, looking into her eyes.  In a conditioned reaction, she averted her gaze, subconsciously trying to avoid the pain she had become so used to.  Hiashi sighed, and took her head in his hands and brushed the hair out of her eyes.  "I've injured you deeply, haven't I?" he asked.  She slowly looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes.  Her lip quivered slightly, and she bit it to prevent the obvious sign of weakness from being shown to her father.  His mouth curved slightly downward in sadness, and he released her and seated himself opposite her on the ground.  Hinata put her hands on her knees and stared at her feet, doing her best to fight off the emotion that threatened to engulf her.  "Hinata… your mother made a promise to me, while you were still being nurtured in her womb." He said, looking up at the sky thoughtfully, "I forgot why she made the promise long ago, though.  Your mother, on the other hand did not forget so lightly, even in death…"  Hinata looked up at him with a look of confusion on her face, her jaw clenched tightly.  "She wanted me to tell you our story… It was a love story, mind you, but it was a tragedy at the same time."  He shook his head and added "But I suppose I should start at the beginning, shouldn't I."  A slight smile played across Hiashi's face as he recounted the tale.  

"I fell in love with your mother the very first time I saw her.  She had a… soft glow about her that could calm the most tumultuous soul, even mine.  I'll never forget the first time I approached her, drawn in by her magnetic aura.  It was at a banquet for the Hokage at the time.  I saw her sitting in a chair by herself, alone in a sea of faces.  You could tell by the look on her face that she didn't mind being alone though.  To her, the small pocket of peace that her world afforded was solace from the din and chatter in the room.  It was a scene from a storybook; I almost was afraid to disturb her shell of solitude.  I allayed my fears, put aside my pride, and approached the young woman, steeled with resolve.  She looked up at me with a soft smile and said, 'A smile would make that face a masterpiece'.  I was in awe of her depth of emotion.  Even a simple sentence to her was important enough to develop with the utmost care and craftsmanship.  Without a word I offered her my hand to dance.  She stood up silently, and placed her fragile body in my hands, and we danced the night away.  Never in my entire life had I known such peace.  I knew from that night on what I wanted from life.  I was willing to give this woman the rest of my days, willing to give my life for her need be."  Hiashi folded his hands together and began wringing them uncomfortably.  "I brought her in front of the council of elders, but they did not approve.  No one that did not have the pure Hyuuga blood was a suitable wife for the heir, in their cold and calculating eyes.  I defied their judgment and married her, despite their admonitions.  We were married in the spring, after a beautiful romance."  He stopped and looked at his daughter.   "How much of the conversation with Naruto did you overhear?" he asked, looking at her sternly. 

She opened her eyes wide in fear and stuttered, "Ano, I…ah… heard about Naruto's mother and Father… and about the… Kyuubi…"  She looked down quickly and began toying with her thumbs, uncomfortable under her father's gaze.  He sighed heavily at his daughter's actions and thought, _"She's afraid of me… Shizuka, I'm so sorry…"_

He looked at his daughter pleadingly and said sadly, "Hinata… I… know I have been a terrible father for you, but I want to change that fact.  It is too much for me to presume to ask you for forgiveness, but I beg of you to hear the rest of my story."  She looked at him questioningly and nodded a little.  He closed his eyes and rested his head in his palms pensively, then continued, "I lived most of my married life in fear.  I was afraid that something, someone would come along and take away the greatest thing that had ever happened to me.  I trained night and day to become strong enough to be her protector, but my I only trained my body, and not my heart.  One day word came of the fox woman, Iansha's arrival to the village.  People were afraid of the idea of a demon amongst them, and they shunned her at first.  My wife saw her sitting alone in the park one day and befriended her.  They became close friends, and had a relationship that I envied.  You… heard when I talked to Naruto about what happened, correct?" he asked apprehensively.  The Hyuuga girl merely looked down at the ground, the information too fresh on her mind for her to react appropriately.  Hiashi took her lack of reply as an affirmative and continued his story.  "I know that my crime is monstrous.  I do not ask that boy to forget what I have done.  Fate, it seems took my heinous actions into its consideration, and I reaped the due rewards, in a way I could have never dreamed.   Your mother was broken beyond words at the death of her best friend.  This was the first time she had failed to quell angry intent, and to the one she loved like a sister.  The loss weighed heavily on her, but in my smugness, I only offered a false comfort to her pain.  I thought that I had won, that my wife would recover from her grief and I would have my love back… but it was not to be.  Shizuka fell into a deep depression, and grew more ill with each passing day.  By the time you were to be born, she was barely able to stand.  She… died giving you life." 

Hinata looked at him, a look of pure shock etched onto her pale features.  No one had ever told her of her mother's death.  Perhaps they didn't want her to blame herself, as her father obviously did.  The weight of the knowledge flooded down on her and she fell off the stump she was seated on, onto her knees sobbing into her hands.  Hiashi rushed to her side, putting his arms around his eldest daughter, awkwardly running his hand on her hair.  He was a stranger to giving comfort to anyone, but his broken heart bled another drop at the sight of his child's pain.  She instinctively leaned into his embrace, weeping onto his chest.  Hiashi softly shushed her, trying his best to remember the warm embraces of his deceased wife.  He remembered how she would speak so softly, barely a whisper, when someone was sad.  He remembered her comforting touch, and the warmth her voice could radiate.  The echoes of her calm memory reverberated through his mind, and he softly whispered, "I'm so sorry, Hinata.   I'm so sorry for neglecting you for so many years.  I… I don't blame you for your mother's death.  I only blame myself, and my selfish actions.  I tried to put the blame on someone else for so long, and you were the one to pick up the broken pieces of hurt that I threw at you.  I'm _proud_ of the woman you are, Hinata." He said, picking up her chin so that their eyes met.  "You are a wonderful reflection of your mother, tempered in your own quiet way.  Although I love her too, Hanabi was conceived simply at the will of the council to create a strong heir.  I'm sure you remember her mother, my brother's widowed wife.  I personally didn't want to replace you as heir, but it was forced upon me. Being strong doesn't matter any more to me, only… love."  He said, as he rested his chin on his weeping daughter's head.   "Your mother came to me in a dream last night.  She reminded me of the promise she made to me so many years ago.  She promised me… that she would tell you of life and of happiness on your 16th birthday.  She said she would tell you of love, and its power.  She wanted to tell you of our sweet romance… But her time was cut short.  Her strength of will held out though, and I believe she came to show us how powerful love truly is.  I hope… that her love can bring us back together, my daughter."  With that, Hinata looked up at him, this time with tears of joy in her eyes.  She said nothing, but her eyes stated everything. She had a family back, and nothing could make her happier.  Well, maybe something, but the blonde haired boy was still totally in the dark. 

The next morning, Naruto rolled about in his sleep, mumbling incessantly about Hokage, and Kyuubi, and such.  He awoke with a start at the sound of a knock at his door and groggily turned over to look at his alarm clock, which read an ominous 7am.  Naruto groaned at the idea of 6 hours of sleep, but nonetheless pulled himself wearily out of his bed.  Impatiently, the knock sounded on his door again, as he shuffled toward it, shouting "I'm coming, I'm coming already!!"  He unlatched the locks and flung open the door, expecting to berate his pervy-sensei for waking him up at such an absurd hour.  "Hia-Hiashi-san!" he stammered, as he recognized the kimono-clad figure in his doorway.  In a panic, Naruto sought to button up his nightshirt and yank off the penguin hat that he wore when he slept.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, it is good to see you up with the sun" Hiashi smirked.  _"Naruto-**kun**?"_ Naruto thought, with eyebrows raised.  This was a surprise; he rarely experienced adults talking to him at all, let alone in a friendly manner.  He was all too used to the cold stares that he would receive on the streets, despite his hero lineage.  While he pondered such things, Hiashi peered over his shoulder at his cramped living quarters.  Despite a few articles of clothing, the child was surprisingly tidy for a teenage boy, but the house itself was in poor condition.  There were cracks in the wall, and the paper covering them was peeling away with age.  The light fixture hung by loose wires and flickered ominously.  In the tiny kitchen, he could see a jug of outdated milk on the table, along with an empty bowl that previously held ramen.  It was obvious that Naruto struggled at life, despite his cheery façade.  What he needed was a person to care for him, as all kids his age do.  No one should be on his own at this stage of life.  Deep in Hiashi's newly softening heart, he felt a pang of remorse for causing this boy to be so totally alone.  Fighting off his sensibilities, he stated bluntly, "Pack up your belongings, you will be given a room at my manor, in a guest apartment."  Naruto's jaw hit the floor at the thought.  He had visited the Hyuuga manor before, and was absolutely astounded at its sheer magnificence.  Surely this was some kind of weird dream.  He grabbed his arm and roughly pinched himself, almost breaking the skin with such intensity.  He opened one of his eyes, half expecting his gaze to meet the ceiling above his bed in his apartment, but instead he was greeted by the image of the tall Hyuuga man, arms crossed, with one eyebrow raised.  Naruto ran around in his room trying to gather his things in one arm, continuously dropping what he was gathering. Hiashi cleared his throat with his eyes closed, wondering if he was going to regret this decision.  He rolled his eyes at the mental image of the blond boy rampaging through his ancestral home.  He reopened his eyes, and turned around sharply on one heel, stating as he walked away, "My attendants will be here in exactly one hour to help you move your things.  Please be ready for them."  He stopped suddenly as if remembering something, and said over his shoulder, "Oh, you will also attend Hinata's birthday party.  Be prepared in a suitable fashion."  Naruto knew he was hinting at getting the girl a gift, but what??  He was a guy, and as all girls know, guys are clueless with these kinds of things.  He slapped his forehead in annoyance and thought of the only girl that would help him in his quest. 

After he finished packing his things, and pensively locked the door behind him, leaving the key where the aides could find it, he went down to Sakura's house to ask her for help.

"Sakura-chaaaannnnnn!!! Pleaseplease, I need your help!" Naruto shouted, as the pink haired kunoichi walked away, with arms crossed.  

"No! No matter how many times you ask, the answer will be the same!" she shouted, annoyed at the sudden request.  Sheesh, he used to practically drool on her, and how he expected her to help him choose a gift for another girl!? How absurd! 

As the blonde boy grabbed her ankles and groveled pathetically at her feet, inner Sakura began to scratch her chin thoughtfully.  Maybe this was the only way she could get this obnoxious boy off her heels.  She whirled around and kicked him under the chin, sending him reeling back up to a standing position.  "Ok, I'll help but on ONE condition!!"  Naruto looked at her expectantly.  "You have to promise to STOP ASKING ME OUT AFTERWARD!"

Naruto weighed the choices mentally, and then the image flashed into his mind of Hiashi standing in front of a crying Hinata, with a deathly glare in his eyes.  _"NO GIFT FOR MY DAUGHTER??"_ the avatar shouted.  Naruto snapped back to reality with a startled shout and nodded his head rapidly in assertion to the deal.  Deep down inside, Naruto's thoughts toward Sakura had dulled dramatically over the last few years.  Ever since the incident with Sasuke, he realized that he had outgrown his crush.  He really didn't WANT to ask her out anymore.  Most of the time when he did, it was purely to enjoy the angry reaction he always garnered.

"Ok good", Sakura said, "Do you have your wallet?"  Naruto nodded, patting the pocket that held gama-chan.  "All right then, let's go SHOPPING!" she said, with an evil, maliciously toothy smile.  Naruto knew it was going to be a loooooooong day.

All righty, thanks for the reviews that I've gotten so far people.  They really make my day.  Anyhow, I hope y'all are enjoying the story! I'm sure enjoying writing it!  Feel free to suggest stuff that you would like to see in the story too! I'm a master of squeezing in stuff that I find interesting ;)

Next time!  The shopping trip!  The birthday party!  Maybe some fighting!  Hehe, see you next time.


	6. A new place to call home

Sorry for the long delay!  I was uh… saving an entire litter of kittens from angry buffalos!  Er.. ok that sounded like Kakashi lol.

On with the show!

Disclaimer : I don't own any part of the Naruto story.

"So what do you think?"  Sakura asked, twirling around in a flowered skirt she was trying on.  Naruto did his best to seem interested, but to him, it seemed like this shopping trip was for Sakura, and not for Hinata.  Noting his attention drifting obviously for the thousandth time, the pink haired girl put her hands on her hips and glared ominously at Naruto.  His gaze lazily drifted up to meet her own, and he came back to reality with a start.  If looks could kill, Naruto likely would have been dead, embalmed, and long since buried by now.  

"Sakura-chan, this is really boring, isn't there something girls like BESIDES clothes?" he whined.  Sakura gave him another cutting glare at his use of the –chan suffix, despite his promise, but brushed it aside as force of habit.  He noted her look and flinched, expecting another bump added to his already impressive collection on his head.

"Yeah, but you don't really even know her.  Clothes are fairly safe, and she can at least return them if they don't fit" she huffed, closing the dressing room door behind her.  Naruto closed his eyes and scratched his chin contemplatively.  The logic somewhat defied him, but then again, Sakura WAS a girl, she probably knew better than he did.  After all, if it were him, he would be absolutely ecstatic over a new set of kunais or a new jutsu scroll or something.  He shrugged, he never understood girls, so why should the situation change now?  As he waited impatiently for Sakura to come out modeling the next garment, a loud noise caught his attention from behind.

[WHACK]

"Ok, ok, you can try on another one" a retreating Shikamaru said, rubbing his now reddened cheek.  The blonde girl in front of him had her hands on her hips and a slightly evil smirk on her face.   She carefully bounced her pigtails with one of her hands, drawing attention to the odd assortment of hair pieces stuck in haphazardly.   It was obvious from the sheer number of them that she had been searching for some time. 

_"How troublesome"_, Shikamaru mumbled, resting his chin on his hand.  He wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten himself into this annoying situation, but he certainly wasn't going to defy the dangerous kunoichi.  Ever since the time he saw her summon Daikaimaitachi and his executioner whirl, he was somewhat awed by her power.  All the girls he had known previously were naggy and loud, and few had any respectable power.  He didn't particularly mind being bossed around all the time by girls, seeing as how it was simpler to do as told than to argue, so he learned to deal with it.  For some reason when Temari bossed him around, he respected it.  Perhaps it was because she had the steel to back it up, or maybe there was something else.  Any woman that garnered more terror than his mother was a force to be reckoned with.  He kind of understood what his father saw in his mother, but even still, the 'beautiful smile that inspires fear' was something that he didn't care to love, at least not at this time in his life.  He remembered back to when the sand-nins returned with the wounded leaf-nins, and were assigned positions in the Konoha military as recompense for the treaty being broken.  Ino, despite her harsh nature, was in tears at the thought of Chouji being wounded.  She had heard of their return, and was one of the first to meet them at the gates.  He smiled remembering Ino's reaction to the newly-trim Akamichi.  For weeks Chouji did his best to avoid the newly formed fan club in his honor, but to no avail.  Apparently, he was quite a hottie in the girls' eyes after losing so much weight.  He ate almost constantly, trying to pack back on the pounds to keep the girls off of him, but it seemed like Nature was out to get him.  His metabolism had picked up to the point where he was seemingly stuck being the object of all the women's attention. 

Almost on cue, the Akamichi boy burst into the clothing store where Naruto and Shikamaru were enduring their chosen torture.  He was breathing heavily and was red in the face, obviously from running for some time.  "Shikamaru, you gotta hide me!  Please! Help!" he gasped.  Using his enormous intellect, Shikamaru thought up a quick plan.  Temari was occupied at the moment, grinning at herself in the mirror, and didn't notice Shikamaru cramming Chouji into the nearest open dressing room stall.  With a flourish, he grabbed about 20 different new hair items, and began nudging Temari, who was now very annoyed, out of the line of sight.  He frantically began poking them into her hairline, despite her protestations and numerous obscene remarks.

"Skika-kun, have you seen Chouji?" a voice behind him falsely purred.  He cautiously turned around, attempting to adopt his usual 'how troublesome' face, and shrugged at Ino, who was fluttering her eyelashes coyly.  Temari by this time was absolutely incensed, steam visibly coming from her ears.  _"__Mission__: success!"_ Shikamaru smirked inwardly, letting himself be pushed out of the way by the angry Temari. 

"Ino, are you attempting to cut in on MY shopping trip with MY Shika-kun?" she hissed.  Shikamaru inwardly winced at the thought of being anyone's 'my', but it was worth it to save poor hapless Chouji from Ino's aggression. 

"YOUR Shika-kun?" Ino retorted, "I think he would deeply resent that, if you would ever give him a chance to protest!"  Temari stood steel jawed in front of Ino, unused to insult matches with anyone.  Kankurou wasn't known for his intellect, and Gaara rarely spoke at all.  She pursed her lips in annoyance, subconsciously trying to buy herself a few more moments to think of a good comeback.  Ino nodded, signifying her victory and began forming the seals for her family's signature technique.  "Fine, if I can't get you to tell me where he is, I'll just make you call him!" she grinning winningly.  Shikamaru curled his lip in annoyance.  This would most definitely be troublesome.  "shintenshin no jutsu!" Ino said, in a half whisper.   As her body crumpled to the ground, realization struck Temari as to what was happening.  With a smile Ino/Shikamaru began walking forward, and put his hand to his mouth to call Chouji's name, but was a moment too late.  Temari pulled out a small fan out of her kunai pouch and swung it in a wide arc.  "KAIMAITACHI NO JUTSU!"  she shouted, as a blast of wind forced Ino's consciousness back into her own body.  The blast was a bit too much, and Shikamaru sweat dropped as the gust blew Naruto out of his seat, knocked Sakura on top of him, and completely destroyed the changing stalls.  Chouji sat huddled in the corner, arms covering his head defensively.  He fearfully opened one eye, as he saw Ino regain control of her body and look at him, with a glimmer in her eye.  Shikamaru gaped as Ino glomped the poor defenseless boy.  "Oh CHOUJI!  I found you!" she sighed.  Chouji's eye began twitching neurotically, his mind wearing thin from running from the girl constantly.

"NOOO", Chouji shouted knocking her off of him.  He formed the seals for his doublesize no jutsu, and went into meat tank mode.  He rolled for the door, but missed his target, and smashed through the wall.  Disoriented, he continued blasting through the storefront, completely obliterating everything in his path.  The shop owner ran around in a panic, trying to stop the juggernaught that threatened to demolish his store.  Naruto jumped to his feet, and tried to run, only to be knocked into a rack of clothing.  He struggled to his feet, totally entangled in a vast assortment of girl's dresses and shirts, tried to claw his way for the door, but kept getting pulled back by some garment tying him to the clothing rack.  Shikamaru ran past, grabbing Naruto by the nape of the neck, with Temari, Ino, and Sakura in tow.  He dragged the entire group out of a hole in the wall, and flopped down onto the ground, next to the panicked store owner, who was running in a circle waving his arms frantically.  They all sweat dropped when the entire building collapsed, with Chouji on top of the rubble, swaying dizzily.  Naruto, taking this chance to escape from the disaster, crawled away from the store, mustering as much sneakiness as he could, attempting to prevent himself from being implicated in the disaster.

As he arrived back at his apartment, he noticed that his things were gone, with the key carefully placed on the doormat.  He let himself in, and flopped down on the badly damaged carpet, and pulled the remaining article of clothing from himself.  He was very frustrated, as he had spent the entire day shopping, and didn't even get the gift that he was supposed to.  He sighed as he looked down at the summer dress on his lap, and looked at the design on it.  It was a modest one piece summer dress, with a sunrise emblazoned on one side, and the stylistically drawn rays of sunshine cast across the front.  He brightened suddenly as an idea popped into his head.  He scrambled into the kitchen and opened the bottom cupboard, and pulled out an old decaying dictionary.  He had kept it carefully hidden for many years, after all, what would his peers think if they found out he had a DICTIONARY?  It was definitely an item on the 'not cool' list.  He took the dictionary to the living area, and sat down next to the dress, flipping through the pages.  He got to his destination, stopping a few times to remember the kanji, and put his finger on the word 'hinata'.  He read the definition, and then triumphantly slammed the book closed, grabbed the skirt, and raced out the front door, leaving the decrepit dictionary behind.  He made his way down to the clothing shop, where work crews were already beginning to rebuild the demolished building, and found the store owner, who was overseeing the project.  He walked up to the old man and asked "Um hi… how much is this?  I was in your store earlier, when it collapsed."  The man creased his eyebrows at Naruto and looked at him thoughtfully. 

"I'm getting out of the clothing business, you children are too much of a hassle" the old man whistled.   "You can keep the dress; consider it a gift, even though I don't know why a boy such as yourself would want it."  He looked at Naruto from under a raised eyebrow, as Naruto bowed quickly a few times, and ran toward the Hyuuga manor.  "Kids these days." The old man huffed. "I really should stop being so nice to them."

Naruto ran up the expansive stairs at the Hyuuga manor, stuffing the dress in his coat as the door slipped open dramatically in front of him.  A servant stood waiting, arms outstretched.  "Welcome, Naruto-san.  I have been instructed to show you to your new living space." She said, turning around on a heel and walking slowly into the depths of the manor.  Naruto followed her closely, huddled at her shirttails, as they descended into the busy inner halls of the manor.  Preparations were being made for the young mistress's birthday celebration, and all seemed preoccupied with the tasks at hand.  He received odd looks from the servants who noticed him, and he attempted to be cordial, grinning at them through a forced plastic smile, and giving a halfhearted wave or two along the way.  They exited the main hall, and walked across a narrow wooden causeway, surrounded by a pond with a bubbling fountain in the middle.  Giant goldfish swam lazily in the clear depths, nibbling on the occasional foodstuff they would find on the surface.  Around the pond were dozens of carefully sculpted bonsai trees, and several blooming cherry trees.  The petals danced slowly to the water's surface, where they would softly break the calm surface of the water.  Tiger lilies and Lotus flowers grew in carefully tended patches in tiny peninsulas along the edges, with several neatly trimmed bushes secluding the area.  Naruto gasped at the stunning garden, as he walked slowly through it.  On a grass spot on an island, connected to the edge with a series of flat rocks, two older men played a game of Go on a stunningly crafted kaya Goban.  The light clack of the stones was the only thing breaking the absolute placidness of the scene.

"Naruto-san, you have many preparations to do before the party, I suggest we move on." The servant said, a kind smile etched into her features.  Naruto dumbly nodded, mouth hanging open, and continued to follow the woman up a path to a second building, took a sharp right, and stopped at a wide painted paper door.  "This is your living space, I hope you find it to be most restful." She smiled, turning around sharply.  Naruto was about to open his chamber doors, when he remembered the dress. He unzipped his jacket, and pulled it out, checking it quickly to make sure it didn't get dirty on its way here.  He poked the woman on the arm gently before she could walk away.  The servant looked over her shoulder, and turned back around, giving Naruto and odd look.  "Yes?" she asked.

"Um… this is for Hinata" he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.  The servant took it from him carefully, nodding to him in affirmation. 

"It is lovely, I'm sure Hinata-sama will love it." She smiled, turning around and walking away.  Naruto looked pleased with himself, and opened the door to his new room.  His eyes were met with a scene that he didn't dare believe could possibly be real.  In front of him lay the most immaculate and expensive looking room he had ever seen.  His jaw fell open as he looked at the flooring, which was made out of perfectly varnished maple tiles, with a gigantic oriental rug padding the middle of the room.  In the middle was an oak end table, with smoked glass inlaid into the top surface.  On the walls were several expensive looking paintings, and several other carefully crafted wall hangings.  Naruto's eyes followed the wall down to a large cushy futon, black with soft silky blankets on it.  Next to the bed were all of his boxes of things, and the doorway to the bathroom.  He stumbled over to the bed, still in awe of his surroundings, and kneeled onto the futon cautiously.  The great soft depths sucked him into the middle, where he was totally engulfed in comfortable blankets.  He struggled for a moment to free himself, but he gave up, as sleep overcame him from the long day.  His thoughts drifted to Sakura, and Hinata, and the wonderful fortune he had in living at the Hyuuga manor.  His thoughts finally came to Kyuubi.  The fox may have been destructive, but good things seemed to be coming from the events surrounding his recent discovery of his relation to him.  His mind came to rest on the blazing crimson eyes of the fox, as sleep overtook him.

"Naruto…"

"Naruto, can you hear me?"

Naruto shook his head at the intrusion and looked up to find himself in front of Kyuubi's gate once again.  He stood up and walked a couple of steps toward the seal.

"Yeah, what do you want?" he asked impatiently, "I was having a nice nap."

Kyuubi approached the gate, and looked down at its paws, clicking his claws on the cold stone floor.  "Naruto… Naruto I have a request."  Naruto looked at him with his head cocked.  Usually the roles were reversed, with Naruto asking the fox for assistance.  This was an interesting change of events.  Kyuubi continued, "After all these years… I would like to see some of the outside events… to be able to experience my nephew's life."  Naruto began backing away, waving his hands in front of him.

"No way no way, I don't care if you're my uncle or not, there's no WAY I'm just gonna release you!" he shouted.  Kyuubi looked at Naruto pleadingly.

"I don't want to be released; I just want to be able to see through your eyes!  Please Naruto; it's so dark and lonely in here." Kyuubi asked, doing his best to sound as pathetic as possible, hoping to garner some sympathy from his host.  Naruto looked at him suspiciously.  "All you have to do is place this" he said, slipping a small piece of paper with a few kanji on it, "on the door below the seal.  The seal will still be intact, and all I will be able to do is be able to see through your eyes."  Naruto looked into the demon fox's pleading eyes, and had a small hint of sympathy for the lonely creature.  He knew how awful it was being totally alone; he couldn't even imagine what it must be like to be alone, and to not be able to make contact with anyone, or anything.  He leaned down and picked up the scrap of paper, and looked up at the Fuujin seal on the gate above him.  He looked down at the paper one last time, then closed his eyes, and slapped it into the spot just below the Fuujin seal on the gate.  Kyuubi's eyes closed and he slowly placed his head on his paws.  Naruto felt like something was latching into the middle of his mind, as pain flashed through his skull.  He awoke in his futon with a start, and felt a burning sensation on his stomach.  He looked down at his belly and saw the 3rd sentinel seal slowly fade and a new smaller seal form just behind the 4th part.  He closed his eyes as another wave of fire went through is throbbing head.  Gradually the pain passed, and he stared up at the ceiling of his room.  What was it that he had just done anyway?  His question was soon answered.

"Naruto, can you hear me?"  He heard a voice say, seemingly from the middle of his mind. 

Hope you guys liked it, please read and review, etc. 

Next time…  well I'm not going to give any spoilers, you guys will see ;) It's about to get weird in a hurry lol.


	7. Uninvited guests

Sorry for the long delay, lot of transitions going on in life.

Disclaimer : I don't own anything from the Naruto manga. I do own the characters I make up.

The kanji for Hinata means "Sunny place"

Naruto raised one eyebrow slightly. His imagination had become rather active of late, it seemed. He sat up in bed, and slumped his shoulders forward. With a sigh he raked his hand through his blonde hair, and started to lie back down.

"Naruto, darn it boy, I know you can hear me."

Naruto blasted out of bed and walked hastily in a tight circle in the middle of his room. For a moment, thoughts of insanity flashed through his mind, but he quickly brushed them aside. He wasn't entirely sure why a voice was talking to him, but he didn't like it one bit.

"NARUTO! It's me, Kyuubi. Respond or something, will you?"

Naruto ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Nope, nothing attached to him. He squinted his eyes at his image displayed on the glass surface. Nothing appeared to be out of place.

"So that's what you've grown up to look like eh? You look very much like your father."

Realization dawned on Naruto as to what was happening. He pointed an accusative finger at his own image in the mirror, and howled "You said you just wanted to see through my eyes! You didn't say anything about me having to listen to you all the time!!!" The consciousness in his mind seemed to sigh.

"Do you really think you would have let me, if I had have told you?" the voice asked.

Naruto knitted his eyebrows. As much as he didn't like the idea, he still had some measure of sympathy for the lonely being inside him. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, as long as the fox kept to himself for the most part. Inside his mind, Naruto acknowledged the fox's request, without uttering a word. He had already come to grips with the power of the bond in his mind. Even the fox's emotion was connected to his mind, and vice versa. At the base of his bed, Naruto found a new pair of pants and a clean white shirt, along with a sport jacket. Apparently this was to be his party clothes, and he dressed himself in them accordingly. Naruto slipped the very expensive looking western style sport jacket and paused as he looked down at himself.

"You can stay like this on one condition… my mind is my own!" He muttered. Kyuubi grunted in assent. Simple, Naruto thought. Problem solved. Now he and Kyuubi could coexist, and he wouldn't have to listen to the fox anymore.

A sharp tap sounded on the door panel to his room, and Naruto slid it open to allow the person waiting inside in. The servant bowed to him, and gestured to the doorway, signifying that Naruto was to follow him. Naruto was ushered through the grand halls of the Hyuuga manor, across bridges and numerous gardens, to a large open garden area, decorated with Chinese lanterns and numerous other party decorations. A small creek ran through the middle of the area, with bamboo bridges spanning them at several locations. Several tables were set up at strategic locations in the grassy area, with generous amounts of food and drink magnificently arranged across them. The sun had most set behind the hills, giving the candle lit area a very festive feel. Not many people had arrived yet, and Naruto was guided to a chair next to the water's edge, where he took his seat and waited. Gradually the sun completed its journey beyond the horizon, and crickets chirped happily in the cool evening air. Numerous important guests had begun to filter in, each paying their respects to Hiashi and Hinata, who were positioned at the doorway, before proceeding to mill about the area. Laugher filled the night air as the party was started. The servants closed off the large doorway to the exit, and Hiashi led his daughter to the area where Naruto sat. She was clad in a silky flowered purple summer dress, with sandals laced up to the middle of her calves. Her hair was put up in a bun, and small amounts of makeup had been carefully applied to her eyes and lips, giving her a much more mature air. Naruto stood up, and remembering his manners, politely offered Hinata his chair. "Hinata-chan, you look nice!" he smiled, emanating his usual cheerful aura.

"Th-Thank you Naruto-kun…" Hinata blushed, taking the seat that Naruto had offered. Naruto scratched his head awkwardly, as he still had no idea why the pretty girl was so nervous around him. He looked around for an extra chair, and snatched one up from across the grounds, and placed himself with Hinata at the water's edge. She squeezed her shoulders together, shuffling her feet nervously with her crush so near her. She inwardly begged herself to start a conversation with him, after all, tonight she looked pretty good, she thought. Maybe if she could work up the courage, tonight would be the night he finally noticed her. Sakura wasn't here to distract him, nor Sasuke to bother him. Yes, she would try, she must. She shyly looked over at him, and began to open her mouth to compliment him back on his sharp attire, when a guest came up to her to congratulate her on her coming of age. She mentally beat up the intruding guest, but managed a weak smile and a polite response. She was quickly swept away in the crowd, all of them giving her a cheerful smile and a word of wisdom. Gradually she was directed through the crowd to a table piled high with gifts from the various nobles and other guests. Naruto, who had been trailing behind, gaped at the massive pile of wrapped things. Never had he seen so many gifts in one place. He looked over at Hinata with awe, but the look on Hinata's face did not express any form of excitement or awe. After all, she had seen this kind of party many times; this one would be no different. People brought gifts for her merely out of obligation and courtesy. Never had she received a gift that had any sentimental value to her. She politely bowed and began to open each gift one by one, thanking the giver personally. Her face did not express any joy at sheer number of presents, but just obligation to open them. As the pile of presents dwindled, and the pile of opened things grew, Hinata's eyes came to rest on a small, simply wrapped package toward the bottom. She carefully wiggled it free and read the label.

"From Naruto", it simply read. Hinata's eyes widened a little, and then she smirked, knowing that her father probably required him to bring one. Naruto, who was busy inspecting the ridiculous pile of gifts, noticed the small package in her hands, and recognized it as his own gift to her. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, and said, as she started to open it, "I thought you would like it. It fits your name and all…"

The wrapping paper fell to the wayside as the dress unfolded in Hinata's hands. Her gaze fell upon the sunrise, and the rays that stretched across the fabric's design. _Hinata: a bright and sunny place._ Her mind went back to the days when she was a small child, when her father told her the meaning of her name. Those were the best days of her childhood, before she grew old enough to be considered as the heir. A tear welled up in her eyes, and she looked up at Naruto. Naruto panicked at the sight of her starting to cry, and started to stammer about how she could pick out something better if she wanted, but the warm look she gave him brought his sentence to a stop. He was mystified at her gaze, but he looked on silently and….

She smiled.

Not the plastic smile that she was so used to giving the guests and her friends. Not the smile that was designed to cover up her inner grief. Not even the kind of smile that is given when someone makes a funny joke. This smile was pure and innocent, and emanated love. Naruto realized at that moment that this was the very first time he had even seen the girl smile. Perhaps that's why he never noticed her before this moment, but at this moment, time seemed to come to a standstill for him. His heartbeat slowly thrummed in his ears and everything else in the area seemed to be completely gone. It was just him and this somewhat strange girl that he now found himself uncharacteristically nervous with. He couldn't stop himself from swallowing hard when a small blush formed on her cheeks, and she told him thank you in her quiet voice. He had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and though uncomfortable, was not entirely unpleasant. He found himself, for the first time in his life, completely at a loss for words.

Naruto's mind was snapped back to reality as a wall of smoke veiled his eyes. Somewhere behind him he heard several people shout in shock. "_Smoke bomb_" flashed into his mind as he sought to escape from the cloudy darkness. Around him, utter chaos had ensued. People were running for cover, as shuriken flew through the air, some finding their targets in the bodies of the people fleeing. Naruto heard a small squeak in front of him, no further than an arm's reach ahead, and he charged into the smoke blindly to halt Hinata's assailant. He was met by a sharp blow to the stomach by a man about 6 feet tall, with long golden hair that stopped in the middle of his back. He had strange tattoos along his arms, which wrapped around his hand and stopped in the middle of his palm, appearing to form a focusing point. He wore nothing but a pair of haidate and sandals, and a curious ring on his left ring finger. Hinata's unconscious form was carelessly slung of his left shoulder. As Naruto doubled over in pain from the blow, the man chuckled, raising his eyebrows in amazement.

"Well well, what do we have here? Looks like it's my lucky day! Two birds with one stone is certainly a good day's work!" he loudly cackled.

"Naruto, jump left, NOW" Kyuubi shouted into Naruto's mind. Naruto complied and narrowly dodged as the man brought his fist down toward the ground at the spot where he was just moments before. He landed and readied his kunai, but was stopped by another shout in his mind's eye. "Naruto, listen to me. Run, now, do not fight this man, he will kill you without hesitation!" the voice said, danger clearly evident in his voice.

Naruto shook his head and said out loud "I will not run away. I've got to save Hinata-chan!" He formed some quick seals and shouted "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!" At his call, 12 clones appeared surrounding the blonde man, and each readied their kunai aggressively. The man raised one eyebrow and began to laugh a vicious maniacal chuckle. Naruto's clones each gritted their teeth and charged at the intruder, but he just stood in place, arms at his side, clearly disinterested in his opponent's assault. He formed a quick seal into the middle of his right hand, and slammed his hand palm down onto the ground as Naruto's clones jumped into the air to attempt to dog pile him. Naruto, who was trying to sneak up behind the man, stopped in shock as he watched the air ripple around his target. He felt and enormous energy emanating from the man, and knew he was in trouble. He threw himself to the ground and shielded his head as the ground flexed and buckled under the man's palm. A humongous shockwave blasted outward from its epicenter, instantly disintegrating all of the clones. Naruto expected to be swept aside by the blast, but instead found that the wave of energy passed directly through him. He attempted to get to his feet, but was dismayed to find that he was completely unable to move. He felt completely exhausted, like the times when he trained with Jiraiya. The man stepped up to Naruto's prostrate form and knitted his eyebrows, curling his lip in disgust. He passed off Hinata to a cloaked figure behind him, and dropped down to his haunches, hands resting limply on his knees, and snorted, "I really don't see why they're so interested in you."

See you next time!


	8. An ancient evil

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Sorry if my translations suck, I'm working with Jquicktrans, and I'm not very good at that even. If you know Japanese, please feel free to come up with a better way of saying the techniques I've made up.

On with the story!

The blonde man grabbed Naruto by the hair and picked his head up until their eyes met. "Such an unworthy host for my old adversary", he said, scorn evident upon his features. Naruto gritted his teeth and struggled to move his arms to bring himself to his feet, but he didn't have any chakra feeding his system. He closed his eyes and inwardly begged Kyuubi to help.

"Here boy, take some of my chakra, but you must promise not to fight, you cannot win in this state", came the response from the middle of his mind. "You must promise me that you will run for help. Promise me!"

"I… promise…" Naruto hesitantly muttered to the fox. Instantly he felt a blaze from within himself, and new life sprung into his muscles. He slapped his aggressor's hand aside and jumped back out of range. He turned around with a grimace and ran into the shadowy veil of the smoke in the area. "Someone help, over here! Hinata needs help!" he screamed over the ruckus in the area. He ran blindly directly ahead of him, and was met by a protective hand. Jiraiya was standing next to Hiashi, who had his byuukagan activated, and was scanning the area for his daughter. He spotted the man who held his daughter captive, and with a grunt to Jiraiya, dashed off to halt the intruder. Jiraiya formed a few seals, and then placed his hands on the ground palm down.

"Gamaguchi Shibari!"

Instantly the entire battlefield turned into the soft flesh of the toad's throat. Jiraiya closed his eyes, getting a feel for the area through his connection with the Iwagama. He ducked low, running forward while biting his thumb, and then forming the seals for Kuchiyose no Jutsu. He summoned a man-sized toad and jumped forward into the fray. "Underworld Spines!" he shouted, as his hair turned into a huge mass of razor sharp needles. He tucked and rolled toward the blonde man, who was standing perfectly still with his arms crossed, eyes closed. Jiraiya hurtled within range, and uncurled, stopping facing the man, with a smirk on his face. "Do they not wear shirts where you come from?" He asked snidely. The man did not respond, just continued to stand completely still, as if he was meditating. Jiraiya nodded to his summon, who approached cautiously. The frog prepared to jump at his target, but before it could blink, it was met with a palm to its face.

"Sennin Jiraiya, am I correct?" He said, as a wave of energy passed through the frog, dispelling it easily. Jiraiya gritted his teeth at the man. His favorite frog summon was defeated effortlessly, this couldn't be good. "I thought that someone with a reputation such as yours would have progressed beyond summoning child's toys. Forgive me for my poor manners; I have yet to introduce myself. They call me Konjiki Garou." He opened one eye, an evil glimmer palpable in it. "Come, show me what you are capable of", he growled, putting his hand forward in a careless fighting stance. Jiraiya grimaced at his mocking attitude, but prepared himself nonetheless.

"Underworld claws!" he shouted, rushing toward his opponent as animal-like talons grew from his fingers. His strike was met fingertip to fingertip, and his claws melted away as if they were never there. Jiraiya swung a foot around for a blow to his opponent's side, was blocked. He placed his palm on the ground, and toad flesh grew up around Garou's feet, binding him in place. Jiraiya stepped back, as the flesh continued to creep its way up its victim's legs. The blonde man looked down at his legs with some surprise as he attempted to pick up his foot.

"An interesting technique" he said, with more curiosity in his voice than fear.

"Childish toys, I seem to remember you calling them. Now you should start by telling me why you are here", he said triumphantly.

"It would be my honor. I was sent by the Akatsuki to abduct Hinata-sama" Garou said, very courteously. "If you would be so kind as to release me, I can finish my job without having to hurt anyone else."

Jiraiya raised one eyebrow at the man's request, and said, "You aren't particularly in any position to be making requests. Why does your organization want Naruto?"

Garou laughed a little and said, "You should know as well as I that we have no interest in Naruto himself, but rather what is inside him. My old rival probably is pretty ashamed at his entrapment, and wouldn't mind being released to do some havoc again. Anyhow, if you refuse to release me, I will be forced to release myself." He clapped his palms together, and formed three seals, terminating on one that Jiraiya had only seen once before in his life. Garou moved his hand in a strange pattern, then set them to rest, one facing up, the other directly down. As he rotated them 90 degrees in opposite directions, he said in a sing-song fashion, "Ijou igami no shushou."

A wide wave of rippling energy formed behind the man's palms, creating a circle in front of him, then he pushed his palms directly out. Jiraiya could feel the energy culminating in the circle, and rapidly brought up a wall of toad flesh in front of him. Just as the wall completed, it disintegrated as a massive wave of energy blasted through it. The flesh was dissolved throughout the entire room and people fell to the ground all over the building, their chakra nearly completely drained from them. Jiraiya was shielded somewhat from the wave by the wall he created, but was still brought to his knees, just enough energy to keep himself conscious. The man chuckled a little at the legendary Sennin at his feet, and then said, "Now, if you will excuse me, I have thi…."

He was interrupted as a green clad man seemingly came out of nowhere, landing a terrible kick to his midsection. He buckled over and slid backwards from the blow, before spitting out a little blood. "Gai, you took long enough," Jiraiya frowned. Gai simply gave his 'nice guy' pose, and turned around to face his opponent.

"Konoha's beautiful green beast has come!" he said, hands on his hips confidently.

"Hmm. So I see. Well gentlemen, as they say, the one who fights then runs away, lives to fight another day!" Garou said, somewhat entertained by the 'Dynamic Entry'. "Do not forget this day though, for the next time we meet will be your last. My comrade has exited the compound with our target, thus I need stay here no longer." He bowed low, seemingly totally recovered and unfazed by the crushing blow he just received. Then, forming a seal system, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves and smoke, leaving nothing but a pair of footprints in his wake. Gai attended to Jiraiya, helping him to a nearby chair next to where Naruto was resting, before assisting Kakashi, who had been helping in other areas of the compound to recover the wounded. Jiraiya placed his head in his hands, the thought racing through his mind. _"The Igami no Tekken… I thought that died with you, Kyuubi. How does this man know that horrible skill?"_

Outside the compound, the cloaked man who was carrying Hinata stopped for a moment to survey his surroundings. He was very near the forest, and the shelter that it afforded. _"Itachi will be very pleased at the success of this mission_." He thought. He tipped his hat down a little, before launching himself toward the wooded area. He progress came to a sudden stop, as a man approached him from the tree line.

"I thought I would be able to catch you heading toward the forest. It seems as though my assumptions were correct", the man stated. The cloaked figured stood in horror as the elder Hyuuga approached him, a look of raw killing intent etched upon his features. He dropped the girl to the side and drew his nodachi, its blade visibly quivering from the man's fearful grasp.

"Y...you will not take her back, she was entrusted to… me…." he trailed off, backing up from the dangerously cold Hiashi. Before he could utter another sound, a series of fingertip blows landed on his neck and chest. He dropped his sword painfully, as he crumpled to the ground, gurgling blood through his nose and mouth. The Hyuuga remorselessly stood over the dying man and kneeled down, grabbing his collar roughly.

"What does your organization want with my daughter!? Speak now!" he barked. The man smiled a little through darkening eyes, and uttered a choking laugh.

"You know very well what secrets Hinata's genes hold. After all you know what clan her mother was from. You should be able to cough guess why they want… her…" he said, grabbing the Hyuuga's hand roughly, before shuddering and collapsing in death. The Hyuuga none too gently removed the dead man's hand from his own, and carefully picked up his still unconscious daughter. He then strode away, his back to the wind, leaving the corpse for the carrion fowl. He knew that the man was right, and that his deceased wife's legacy held a very dangerous secret for Hinata. He also knew that he would never let a loved one die again.


End file.
